Of course, we won't know the first-round matchups and potential elimination pairings until the final draw takes place in December.

You are permitted to request a maximum of four tickets per game with a limit of seven games. The first phase of ticket sales closes on March 31. It does not matter whether you apply right now or at the last minute -- a lottery will allocate the tickets when the window closes.

Yikes -- Former RSL defender Jack Stewart has found his way back to US after stints with Nybersgund and Moss in Norway. The MLS veteran will play for the Carolina Railhawks this year along with a host of other former MLS players.

gregegeg: No-one associates all of T&T with Warner. Surely you must know that "a business in T&T" refers to Warner's shady travel agency, which was (still is?) the exclusive vendor for World Cup tickets. Just a slight conflict of interest.

I believe $80 dollars would be less than the Germany prices. At least, it's less than I paid. It's also a tiny fraction of the cost of going there. If you can afford to get there, and stay there -- and fly around the country -- then the ticket prices are no big deal.

I don't know if I can afford the $3,000 (maybe closer to $4,000, if traveling alone) it will surely cost per person just to go and be there. But, I'll try to get some tickets just in case.

That's certainly a valid question. If anyone on earth should be confident in the value of their tickets, it's FIFA (even in this economy and in a less accessible location). Now will demand be as high for SA 2010 as, say, Germany? Probably not - but then WC 06 had literally millions and millions of ticket applicants denied.

I'd say FIFA will try this as business as usual, see how many requests come in, then adjust down the line. This could end up being a World Cup where slightly more "real fans" can get in to matches, with fewer corporate giveaways. We'll see though.

From Wikipedia:
By UN classification South Africa is a middle-income country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange (the JSE Limited), that ranks among the top twenty in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centres throughout the entire region. South Africa is ranked 25th in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) as of 2007.

However:
...it suffers from large income gaps and a dual economy marking it as a developing country. South Africa has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world. A decade of continual economic growth has helped to lower unemployment, but daunting economic and social problems remain. The average South African household income decreased considerably between 1995 and 2000. As for racial inequality, Statistics South Africa reported that in 1995 the average white household earned four times as much as the average black household. In 2000 the average white household was earning six times more than the average black household. The affirmative action policies have seen a rise in black economic wealth and an emerging black middle class.

Would love to go to South Africa. And from the photos of those stadiums, they seem to be well on their way to completion . . . albeit the photos of Cape Town's show players practicing in dirt amidst the construction.

Take in the Cup then off for a safari, then to Zanzibar for a little R and R on the beach or perhaps to Mozambique for some surfing . . . how's that for getting out of the protective bubble . . .

I would love to go to South Africa and I while I will always secretly wish that come Dec 2009 they are picking the US Cities to play the games in - I hope South Africa does a wonderful job. The cooler winter temperatures should make for fantastic games as heat and humidity won't destroy teams the way it does in other parts of the world during June.

Bet aside from from stadiums - be honest - the global economy may not support this too well.

No one expects South Africa to fill up its stadiums as easily as Germany did in 2006.

Hopefully, despite the distance and the downturn in the global economy, enough foreign fans will travel to have good crowds at most games.

I read somewhere that South Africans will also be able to buy tickets at a much lower price something in the $20 range. Still a lot for the average South African but maybe worth it for a once in a lifetime event.

"I read somewhere that South Africans will also be able to buy tickets at a much lower price something in the $20 range. Still a lot for the average South African but maybe worth it for a once in a lifetime event."
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Particularly if they decide to become entrepreneurs and scalp their tix -- I know I would! :-)

I've been thinking about going for a long time. I went to Japan/Korea and to Germany and they were great experiences.

Right now, I don't have a good feel for the ultimate cost of travel and lodging, but airfare seems especially high. I paid around $750 round trip to Japan and Germany and tickets I'm looking at to SA are three times that figure at $2500 (though they will perhaps be lower in the end).

I may still bite the bullet and go because I've never been to Africa, but I'm considering traveling somewhere closer where the whole country is passionate about the games (say, Mexico or the UK) or perhaps just taking some time off at home and spending that $2500 on beer...

"South Africa are not capable hosts/US are going to get the World Cup talk" "South Africa are not capable hosts/US are going to get the World Cup talk" "South Africa are not capable hosts/US are going to get the World Cup talk" "South Africa are not capable hosts/US are going to get the World Cup talk"

This Dude is going to be there celebrating a ton of firsts! First time to Africa, first WC in Africa and my First WC (not counting the womens matches @ RFK because of chinese SARS outbreak back in the day).

I think South Africa will be a great host and I do hope to pick up tics to the games more cheaply when the schedule becomes clearer, probably from a scalper. Haven't bought our plane tics yet (yikes, it might be the most expensive plane ride you can take right now), but the plan is to be there before it starts and return to the states before the round of 16.

Yup we're going! Have been to everyone since 94...Why stop now? I will tell you that this might be the last time I go to World Cup, because both France in 98 and Germany in 2006 was not the results I want to see again, especially when you talk about all the money that you have to fork over to do this trip! It is a long way to go to see a three and out!

Do you know if Obama has money earmarked in the stimulus package to help with tickets and travel to S. Africa for the World Cup? He probably does, I will check...

I may still bite the bullet and go because I've never been to Africa, but I'm considering traveling somewhere closer where the whole country is passionate about the games (say, Mexico or the UK) or perhaps just taking some time off at home and spending that $2500 on beer...

Posted by: cray | February 20, 2009 1:08 PM
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Make sure you let everyone know if you wind up spending the $2500 on beer!